Famil Newsletter 2007 - heron
Transcription
Famil Newsletter 2007 - heron
ily Picnic m a F n o r e H d r a h c Prit Newsletter 2007 Issue 14 June 16, 2007 Inside this issue: Engagements 2 Family News 3 A Birth 3 2006 Game Winners 4 2007 Special Birthdays 5 In Memoriam 6 Recollections of . . . 2006 Special Anniversaries 7 Honouring the 7 A Banking Blunder 8 Pritchard Coat of 9 When We Were 10 The First Year of 11 I’ve Got the Music In 12 Walter Pritchard 13 The Seat Across the Aisle 14 Albert Louis Heron 16 Heron Family Track Results 2006/2007 18 California Dreaming 21 The Unveiling of Jenny Penny 23 The Heart Behind the 27 Cart The Up and Comings 28 Last year’s picnic was held at Paul Lyn Park in Ajax. The weather was great and everyone enjoyed the food, the company, the conversation and the games. Especially popular was the balloon toss. Updating Our Family History Could you please send family information, regarding marriages, births, deaths, and achievements (awards etc.) to Susan Kennedy at [email protected] so she can update either the Pritchard or the Heron family history books. Page 2 Pritchard-Heron Family Picnic Engagements Lucy Furlong is pleased to announce the recent engagement of her daughter Mary, of Hamilton, to Tim Virio of Oshawa. Nicole Brennan is engaged to James Day - Wedding Date June 12, 2010 Jan and Larry Noonan are pleased to announce the engagement of Kristyl Noonan To Brad Neilsen Issue 14 Page 3 Family News From the Roccasalvas Last fall, Tracy and Marc Roccasalva moved to San Jose, CA. Marc is a Controller for Corporate/Global Finance at Cisco Systems, Inc. Tracy is Senior Manager of Online, Viral and Brand Marketing at Cisco. Josh’s report card for preschool shows him as being above average performance. They go to the beach and the aquarium in Monterey, CA every chance they get. The weather is almost always nice. California has so much beautiful foliage everywhere - and much of it is beautiful smelling - like the lavender that is blooming everywhere right now. From the Noonans Michael’s softball team, with Larry as coach, took the league championship in September 2006. Kristyl and Meaghan joined the Women’s Safe Hockey League in Oshawa this fall. Their team came second in the league and third in the province. Last June 30, Jan retired after 31 years of teaching. The girl’s volleyball team, coached by Larry, took first place in Durham, again this year. At the end of June, Larry, Jan and Michael are leaving for a two month trip to the west coast. They will drive through the United States and Back through Canada. A Birth Michelle and Andy Gillis are pleased to announce the birth of their second son, Aaron Joseph Gillis. Older brother Andrew is delighted that Aaron was born on Monday, June 4, 2007, at 10:08 a.m. Page 4 Pritchard-Heron Family Picnic 2006 Game Winners Wheel Barrel Race - Children 1st - Josh & Tracy Roccasalva 2nd - Dylan & Dave Heron 3rd - Paul & Daniel Heron Shoe Kick – Adults 1st - Dave Heron 2nd - Garfield 3rd - Joseph Heron Wheel Barrel - Adult 1st - Daniel Heron & Dave Heron 2nd - James & Joseph Heron 3rd - Garfield & Nikki Corey Doucette went down (or should we say way up) to an ignoble defeat. Balloon Toss 1st - Mary Furlong & John Witherspoon 2nd - Garfield & Nikki 3rd - Jeff & Tyler Christian 4th - Megan & Bev 4th - Haley & Hannah Swain Congratulations to the reigning champs of the SHOE KICK: Paul Heron & Dave Heron Shoe Kick - Children 1st - Paul Heron 2nd - Nikki Witherspoon 3rd - Haley Swain Issue 14 Page 5 2007 – Special Birthdays 5 years Mariah Keeling – Jan. Lauren Mobbs – Mar. Chleo McCormick – July 10 years Lucy Petro – Jan. Laurie Heron – Mar. Tiffany Gregorchuk – Apr. Amada Rausch – Apr. Shannon Witherspoon – July Andrew Thompson – Sept. Christopher Thompson – Dec. 15 years Graham MacInnes – Apr. Daniel Heron – June Joseph Heron – June Meredith Pritchard – Dec. 25 years Shawn Baran – Jan. Lesley Green – Mar. Kristen Offen – Apr. Meaghan Noonan – Sept. 30 years Andy Gillis – Feb. Ted Martin – Feb. James Furlong – May James Evans – Sept. Stacy Wilton – Nov. Michael Wilton – Dec. 35 years Scott Martin – Feb. David Pritchard – Mar. Michelle Gillis – May Jason Pritchard – Oct. Marco Roccasalva – Oct. 40 years Ross Rains – Jan. Natalie Pritchard – Feb. Michael Furlong – Mar. Jamie McCormick – Aug. Valerie Pritchard – Oct. Heather Moon – Oct. 70 years Tony Vidas – June Bobby Hennessey – Nov. 45 years Michael McCormick – Jan. Pat Heron – Apr. Edward Clark – May Rose Mary Heron – June Larry Martin – July Laurie Curry – Aug. Suzanne Rains – Oct. Barbara Pritchard – Dec. 90 years Vic Cummings 50 years Michael Wilton – Apr. Ricky Meyers – June Gayle Wilton – Oct. 55 years Margaret Van Rotterdam – Feb. Patrick Pritchard – Apr. Wayne Rains – July Jan Noonan – Dec. 60 years David Keeling – Apr. Leslie Wilton – Sept. Susan Leutheuser – Oct. John Leutheuser – Nov. 65 years George Pritchard – Apr. Robert Green – June Donald Pritchard – July Dave Martin – Dec. 80 years Alberta Seeley – Apr. Virginia Davis – Aug. Note: if your name is missing please make sure that it is recorded in the family history. Send it to [email protected] Page 6 Pritchard-Heron Family Picnic Walter Pritchard Walter Pritchard passed away peacefully, at St. Michael’s Hospital, on Wednesday, January 31, 2007, at the age of 82. Walter, beloved husband of Doris. Loving father of Aileen, Norman, Dolores, Julia, Cynthia, Angela and Jason. Grandpa will be fondly remembered by James, Yvette, Rebecca, Chris, Eric, Joshua, Jason Jr., and great-granddaughter Tegan. The family would like to thank Walter’s many friends and co-workers for their support during his brief battle with lung cancer. John Clarence Martin John Clarence Martin, 91, entered eternal life peacefully, Tuesday morning, March 27, 2007, at Eastwood Nursing Center. John was born on April 21, 1915, in Luther, Michigan, to Clarence and Lilly (Dobriener) Martin. On May 25, 1935, John married the love of his life, Virginia Peters, and the couple set about establishing their home and raising a family in the Marquette area. John was employed at the Piqua and Munising Wood Product Plant for many years. Rarely content to work at only one job, he was also self-employed. For years, he owned and operated Johnnies City Service in Marquette . He also worked for the DSS&A Railroad and as a heavy equipment mechanic during the construction of K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base. John retired after twenty years as a corrections specialist at the Marquette Branch Prison. John was an avid outdoorsman, happiest when he was outdoors with his family and friends. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping, traveling, bowling, gardening, and long walks often accompanied by his feline friends, especially Freddie. John was a proud and loving husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. Left to cherish his memory are his wife of more than 71 years, Virginia; two sons, Ronald (Beverly) Martin of Negaunee and Ted Martin of Negaunee; a daughter, Marilyn (Ed) Rathjen of Orion, Ill.; fifteen grandchildren; twenty greatgrandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren. Issue 14 Special Anniversaries: Michelle & Andy Gillis – 5 years in April Laurie & Greg Heron – 30 years in May Also on June 16, 2007 Dianne & Gordon Thompson – 45 years Olive & George Heron – 58 years Honouring The Lifeblood By Larry Noonan On Thursday June 7, Jan Noonan was honoured by Canadian Blood Services for giving blood over 50 times. The ceremony was held at the Centennial Building on Centre Street South in Whitby. After and eventful trip to the location, Jan and Larry arrived for the ceremony which was attended by people who had given blood 50+, 75+, 100+, 150+ and 200+ times in their lifetime. Jan has given blood 71 times and will likely be again honoured next year for having reached the next milestone in donations of 75. CONGRATULATION TO JAN NOONAN FOR HER 50+ LIFE GIVING GIFTS OF BLOOD! Page 7 Page 8 Pritchard-Heron Family Picnic A Baking Blunder By Jean Witherspoon About four years ago I invited a former work colleague and her boyfriend to dinner. Since they were both quite a bit younger than me, I thought there might be awkward moments of silence. So, to make the evening livelier, I invited my daughter Paula and her two young children, Nikki and Anna, to join us. The month must have been February because it was on or near Paula’s birthday, which is February 21. I’m a great believer in the sound wisdom that, when having company, you never cook a dish you haven’t tested before, so I stuck to a standard meal of roast beef and vegetables. However, when I pondered what to make for dessert I thought why not make a birthday cake from scratch for Paula. I would normally just use a cake mix, but I guess I wanted it to be extra special for my guests and, of course, for Paula and her young children. I decided on a chocolate cake that included in the ingredients - butter, unsweetened cocoa powder and sour cream. The recipe was called Super Chocolate Cake. For the icing I got really adventurous and made a mocha icing, which called for melted bittersweet chocolate and even coffee granules. I envisioned my guests all oohing and aahing over my succulent home made cake. The cake baked well and firm and after it had cooled I iced it and put it on a fancy plate in readiness for carrying it, with lit candles, into the dining room. I decided that Nikki could do the honours. The main course seemed to be enjoyed by all and there was lots of chatter and laughter during the meal. When it came time for dessert I excused myself, called Nikki into the kitchen and closed the kitchen door leading to the dining room so as to add to the surprise of presenting my masterpiece. Nikki was all excited at the prospect of being the carrier of the cake. I got out the small birthday candles and began to insert them into the cake but I couldn’t pierce the exterior. The candles just would not go in! I couldn’t understand what the problem might be and at one point thought I might have to get a hammer. After some hard pressing they finally went in and, turning the lights low, and singing Happy Birthday, Nikki, bearing the cake, began her walk to the dining room. Paula was surprised and happy and I told her she must make the first cut and make a wish. After blowing out the candles, she tried pulling them out but they wouldn’t budge. “They won’t come out,” she said. Sensing that I had a baking disaster on hand and thinking quickly, I said, “Oh, I know, it’s a different kind of cake. It’s called, Rocky Region Rubble Cake.” “I never heard of that before,” she said “Is it something new?” “Kind of,” I answered meekly. “It was apparently created by someone who lives near the Rocky Mountains.” The most embarrassing aspect was that Paula had to actually stand up and give the candles a hard tug in order to get them out. I passed her the knife and she tried to make a cut. No go. She had to put the long blade across the cake and press hard before making a dent. To make a long story short, the guests had to literally pick up the cake and eat it because they could barely get their forks through it. Fortunately, I had some ice cream and canned fruit, which I served after removing their cake plates with most of the cake still on them. Issue 14 Page 9 After a while, I had to own up to the fact that the cake wasn’t meant to be rock-like, because it was obvious no recipe would feature a solid brick cake. I apologized to everyone but maintained that I felt no personal guilt because I had merely followed a recipe, which I passed around and let them read. All agree the instructions were straightforward and on the plus side they all said that the icing was delicious. The baking disaster turned into a topic for conversation and laughter, which added merriment to the small gathering. About two weeks later, I was making a pie and I reached into the cupboard for the flour bag. I emptied the required flour into a mixing bowl and was just about to add the salt when I noticed the colour of the flour. It was just the slightest tinge, but it seemed to be a very pale, pale yellow in colour. Thinking I had perhaps bought cornmeal flour or something, I picked up the bag to read what it was. The name? PANCAKE MIX! Then, like an epiphany, it struck me. That was what I had used in Paula’s cake. No wonder we couldn’t get the candles in or out. Using pancake mix would have turned the batter into glue! I laughed and laughed and when I phoned Paula and my friend to tell them about my discovery, they also laughed heartily over the blunder that made for an interesting evening, since it became the main topic of conversation. I will only add that the reason it would not have occurred to me to check that I had selected the pancake mix rather that the flour is because I never buy pancake mix in a bag, only in a box because it contains a smaller portion. The bag of pancake mix was left over from “Breakfast in Bethlehem” an event held at our church each year on the feast of the Epiphany. I am one of the pancake makers and someone gave me the leftover to take home. Since no harm was done, I guess this is one case where a dessert disaster turned into a social success. Pritchard Coat of Arms By Susan Kennedy The Shield is “Silver; on a black horizontal band between three black shells a gold buck’s head full-faced between two gold buckles.” Above the shield and helmet is the crest which is described as: “A silver dragon’s head jagged, holding in his mouth a black shell, the next charged with two blue buckles placed horizontally between two blue narrow horizontal bands.” The Motto: “LABORE IT FIDE” (By Labour and Loyalty) The surname Pritchard appears to be patronymic in origin, and is believed to be associated with the Welsh, meaning, “the son of Richard”. Different spelling variations include, Prichard , Pritchards, Prichards. Page 10 Pritchard-Heron Family Picnic When We Were Young By Olive Heron Each year it takes a while to know what to write for the newsletter, but always something comes up to set you on the right track. I was watching TV the other day when on came breaking news. There was a shooting at a high school in the west end of Toronto; I was shocked. They said a 15-year-old boy had been shot in the high school and was rushed to the hospital. He was in critical condition. I sat there thinking how terrible it was. What kind of a place do we live in? So many teens seem to be getting shot these days. What is the matter with everybody? When I was young and in school you never heard of anyone getting shot. There were fights yes, but not with guns. When I was about six I remember my brother Walter and his friend Buddy getting beat up by some older boys. I was on my way home from school, walking through a field by my Grandmother’s house when I looked across the field and saw some older boy beating up Walter and Buddy. I ran over to see what I could do. Luckily, I had taken a baseball bat to school and I ran at the boys with the bat, swinging it as hard as I could at them. Before I reached them, they took off. I don’t know whether they were frightened of me or if it was because I was a girl, and boys didn’t hit girls in those days. I didn’t notice, but my Grandmother came out of her house to stop me from being so foolish, she said. She got us all together and took us home to tell my Mother what terrible things we were doing. Walter fighting and me fighting with some boys. I tried to explain, but she would not listen. We had no business fighting, especially me a girl. When my Grandmother left, Walter explained what had happened, how the boys had been mad at Buddy for what he had done and saw them walking through the field and jumped them. Walter had quite a few cuts and bruises. Mom cleaned him up and told him to watch himself after this. Can you imagine what it would be like today? If one of the kids had a gun, we could all have been dead. My mother didn’t have anything to say to me, but every time the story came up my mother was the one telling it. This is the only reason I remember it. Then there was the one about Gordon, my young brother, and his friend Robin who got in an altercation at a restaurant on Queen St. This is the way I heard the story: Gordon was around 17 (I think) when it happened. They got into a little fight at the restaurant and they left, but the boys followed them and when they got about halfway home they fought with them again. The police came and brought Gordon and Robin home. They had quite a few cuts and bruises. No guns involved in that one either. But again, if it were today, it might have involved lethal weapons. I think Gordon should be telling you this one, I don’t really remember it all that well. It was better then, when fights were just settled with fists. Issue 14 Page 11 The First Year of Retirement By Janice Noonan After 31 years of teaching, I retired last June. I spent the last sixteen years working at head office in a department that changed its name from Computers in Education to Information Technology, then Academic Information Technology and finally Academic Information Communication Technology. I in-serviced teachers and other staff members in the use of computers in the classroom and as tools for their jobs. The end of June was always a busy time for us as we supported teachers with problems they encountered when completing the Provincial Report Card. Even the Help Desk, when they couldn’t solve a teacher’s problem, passed it on to me. I was the leading expert at the Board for fixing crashed report cards. Fortunately, my retirement didn’t leave the Board high and dry with regards to report card support, for in the final term of the 2005-2006 school year, our board piloted a new on-line report card. The support for this report card would come from the IT technicians. The teachers in our department would be responsible only for training the classroom teachers in its use. Because of this, my retirement got off to a slow start. Before leaving at the end of June, I promised my colleagues that I would help them with the in-services in the fall when everyone would start using the online report card. They had 170 schools to in-service, on site, in twenty days and only six staff members to accomplish this. I and three others came back from retirement to help with this project. We worked full time from the last week in September until the first week in November. Then, throughout November, we took shifts at the Help Desk in the evenings and on weekends to further assist the teachers while they worked on their reports. In December, just when I though I was retired again, I received a phone call from my former boss. She wanted to know if I would come in for a couple of weeks to test the software on the new computer image. (Every time a new piece of software is added to the network, every program has to be tested to ensure that the new piece did nothing to interfere with other software. Because of the time this takes, new software is usually added only once a year.) I spent two weeks trying every piece of software as a student, a teacher and an administrator. Finally, when I finished this project, I could go to bed at night, knowing that in the morning I could get up and do nothing more than see Michael off to school. With my new found freedom, though, I didn’t do nothing. Among many other things, I spent a lot of time this winter in preparing for our vacation this summer. Last summer, Michael suggested than instead of playing softball, that we take the whole summer and travel out west. We thought we’d like to travel in an RV. However, research showed that renting an RV for two months would cost a minimum of $13,000. We decided to purchase one, with the possibility of selling it later. Even though we thought we would buy an RV in the spring of 2007, we went looking in early summer of 2006, just to get an idea of what was available. We happened to see a motor home that we liked that was at a very reasonable price. While considering it for a couple of days, we went on the dealer’s website to have another look at it. To our surprise, the price was lowered by $3000. We went to the dealer the next morning and bought the RV for $16,000. (Continued on page 20) Page 12 Pritchard-Heron Family Picnic Two of our family members are enjoying successful careers in music. Both are named James. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not. James Pritchard James "PROBLEM CHILD" Pritchard, born and raised in the GTA has been fronting the stage for 4 years now (3 as a member of FTATR). In 1996, he finally got the guts to jump up onto a karaoke stage and try a song (generally there are a lot more people at karaoke than in the shower where most of us think we are rock stars). The first three tunes he ever performed were Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Queen, Wanted Dead or Alive by Bon Jovi and Kids Wanna Rock by Bryan Adams. That was 10 years ago now. AC/DC was always a favourite band for James so he started to work on practicing a tune to try at karaoke...BACK IN BLACK. The rest of the AC/DC karaoke catalogue was soon to follow and people would regularly request him to do an AC/DC tune whenever he was there. Dean, the original drummer for FTATR approached James at karaoke one night and asked if he would be interested in starting an AC/DC tribute band. James is not only the singer but has also been the band's manager for the past couple of years. Their website is http://ftatr.com/HOME1.htm James Furlong James Furlong, aka J.Aslan, plays bass in the band, The Birthday Massacre. The Birthday Massacre comes from Toronto, Canada. Combining their interests in various musical and artistic styles, the band has successfully accumulated an impressive international fan base, press accolades, and defied categorization with their unique sound and visuals. The band was formed in 2000, and independently produced and recorded their first two albums, Nothing and Nowhere and Violet. Through both of these highdemand releases, as well as their highly acclaimed and beautifully atmospheric website, the band has obtained a large and loyal fan base throughout the world. The band currently finds a home on the European label Repo Records, and Metropolis in North America . The band’s line-up consists of vocalist Chibi, guitarists Rainbow and Mike Falcore, bassist Aslan, keyboardist O-en and drummer Rhim. The last year has seen the band extensively touring internationally, traveling across Canada , the United States , Mexico , and many European countries. They have become renowned for their high-energy live performances, drawing large, mixed crowds through their appeal to fans of a surprisingly wide range of genres. Equally comfortable playing intimate venues as they are on a festival stage, the band’s highly-praised performances will continue into the next year as they continue touring and creating new material for future release. Their website is http://thebirthdaymassacre.com/ Issue 14 Page 13 Walter Pritchard By Olive Heron What I remember about my brother Walter? The Air Force. Walter was older them me by what I thought was 2 years, (now I’m not sure) We played together often, we also had our little fights, like siblings do. Mostly we had fun together. I hung around with his buddies and we played baseball, football or what ever. In this instance, I was just one of the boys. My girlfriends and Walters boyfriends played together too. Walter was a very smart boy. As I remember he always got good marks; he often was at the top of the class. If I remember right, he even skipped a grade, I think it was grade 2 or 3. When Walter graduated from grade 8, he went to work for our Dad at the Danforth Furnace Works. He worked in the office, answering telephones and waiting on customers, etc. I didn’t have as much to do with him when he started working. He had his friends and I had mine. A little after Dad took over the business (Danforth Furnace Works), we moved from 112 Branston Rd. In York, down to 752 Broadview Ave., where the business was. Walter still kept in touch with his friend Bruce Shields. His family to had moved to some place on Donlands Ave. not too far from us (well at least closer then Branston Rd.). His Father worked for the Donlands Dairy. They hung out together a lot. Bruce, I think, drove his father’s car and he and Walter often went a lot of places together. In 1942, when Walter turned 18, he joined the Air force . It was here that he met his wife Doris, she was also in the air force, I believe she was a cook. Walter brought Doris home one time when he was on leave. He wanted us to know her. A little while later they set a date and were married. I was a bridesmaid. A little time after that, they announced that they were expecting a baby. Now, I don’t remember whether or not Walter went oversea before Doris had Aileen but he was not there when she moved to 68 Bellfair Ave. In the Beaches, a house my Mom and Dad bought, so Doris would have a place to live while Walter was overseas. Aileen was not very old when they moved there. I remember, once in a while, going down to visit Doris to help her shop. I wrote often to Walter when he was in England, telling him all the things that were going on at our place. I took the place of Mom and Dad writing, so when his letter came back we all read them. Walter was a gunner in an airplane, but it seems to me that he also helped out on dairy farm, when he wasn’t flying. Walter came home in the summer of 1946, I remember we all went down to the Exhibition grounds to see the fellows coming home. Doris and Aileen were with us. It was such a joyous occasion. Page 14 Pritchard-Heron Family Picnic For my offering in this year’s Newsletter, I decided to reproduce a bit of fiction I wrote in the 1980s: The Seat Across the Aisle by George Heron Call it some sort of time-warp phenomenon if you want. Call it an unbelievable coincidence. Or maybe it was a combination of both. It began shortly after I boarded the VIA Rail Transcontinental at Winnipeg, heading east. I quickly found a vacant seat in my assigned coach. After exerting the usual effort, I managed to get my two pieces of luggage nicely positioned in the overhead rack and I settled comfortably in my seat. I was aware of another Winnipeg passenger occupying the seat directly across the aisle from mine. At first I paid him no real attention. But when my eyes finally focussed on his face, I was startled by his familiar look. He bore an uncanny resemblance to my boyhood chum, Kenneth Wilson. Only a much older edition. This man was in his mid-sixties, I would guess, the same age as myself. Kenny (as I used to call him) was unfortunately long dead. While studying the stranger’s face, I felt myself being dragged back in time. It was during the Second World War, in the fall of 1944 to be precise. I was on a troop train—again heading east from Winnipeg— among army reinforcements for the fighting in Europe. The Allied invasion of Normandy had begun in June and we soldiers were needed to help bring the depleted units up to strength. Of course, Kenny was there too. We had joined the army together, just as we had done everything together since we were kids: school, sports, going out on double dates, you name it. A lot of the guys were whooping it up, singing or joking. Some were playing cards. Others were reading. Kenny was enthralled in that First World War novel, A Maid and a Million Men. It was a beaten-up paperback that the guys had passed around at camp. I was next to get it. The story involved a girl who had somehow faked her way into the army disguised as a man. It promised to be fascinating reading and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. Only Kenny was a slow reader and I figured we would be Europe before he was through. But fate decreed that I would not finish the trip. Somewhere along our Northern Ontario route I became ill. At first, it was just a slight pain in the chest when I breathed in; this was accompanied by the beginning of a fever. Both got worse as the hours went by and I got quite weak. My condition was such that the medical orderlies on board arranged for me to lie in a bunk, even during daylight hours. Someone must have wired ahead at one of the stops, because when we reached Toronto, ambulance attendants were waiting for me. They quickly took me off the train on a stretcher, along with my gear, and wheeled me toward the platform exit. Issue 14 Page 15 I knew Kenny was as disappointed as I was at our splitting up. As a nice gesture, and no doubt as an afterthought, he yelled out the open window to the ambulance attendants to come back for the book he knew I wanted. But they ignored him, concentrating only on getting me to the hospital as quickly as possible. I was taken to Christie Street Hospital, which served military personnel, where it was determined that I had a bad case of pleurisy. Those cold nights sleeping in the open air on the prairie during training exercises had finally taken their toll. The result was, I spent the next two weeks in the hospital before my health returned to normal. After my hospital discharge I was sent to the military depot at Exhibition Park in Toronto’s west end, until they decided what to do with me. I was still there a couple of months later when I got word that Kenny had been killed in action. I was devastated. Suddenly, I was back in the present, the scenery of Northern Ontario rushing past my window. For some reason I had an overwhelming compulsion to question the stranger who looked so much like Kenny. Was he some distant cousin or other I did not know about? A glance across the aisle told me I was too late. The stranger was gone, his seat now unmistakably vacant. But wait, what was that object sitting on it? You might already have guessed. I picked up a beaten-up paperback copy of A Maid and a Million Men. I asked the passing conductor what stop the man had gotten off the train. “What man,” he answered. “That seat’s been empty since Winnipeg.” http://www.homestead.com/heron/ Page 16 Pritchard-Heron Family Picnic Albert Louis Heron By Susan Kennedy Sadly, I never knew my grandfather, my father’s father, Albert Heron, who died before my parents married. He died in 1942 and my parents were married in 1949. He was only 58 when his heart gave out, so young. His passing left my grandmother, Florence with two young girls, 8 and 6 and two boys 18 (my father) & 13. World War II was underway and it was not long after his passing that my father dutifully signed up for service. My grandfather was no stranger to hardship as he had been injured in the First World War and, during the Depression between the Wars, he had a difficult time finding steady employment to support his family. He had various jobs: shoveled snow in winter (before the plows that we know today), helped to paint the Bloor St. Viaduct in 1924, once was an Auxiliary Policeman during the two weeks of the CNE. No matter how dismal the weather, he went out most days to work on a salvage truck to supplement the meager pension the Armed Forces had award him due to his injury. One son, Robert, having lived only a year, predeceased him. Albert and Flo had been married about three years when their second born went home to God. For ten days little Bobby, as he was affectionately called, lay in Toronto Sick Kids hospital with Bronchi pneumonia. With no prescription drugs to combat this serious illness Bobby died. The heartache they felt can only be imagined. Before the war that forever affected his life, my grandfather lived with his parents and three siblings in Charlottetown, PEI where he was born in 1884. He was tall and handsome and had black hair, and I know where my father’s dark hair comes from. Albert was a hard worker even then, as he first worked in the mines, then on the winter boats on the East Coast. Why did he leave this life, where he was his mother’s favorite? I can only surmise that it was because of his leg injury, that he might have a better chance for employment or treatment in Toronto. He, of course had no way of knowing that the Depression would weigh heavily upon him. Another thing I know about him, he was smart. He played checkers in Allan Gardens and had a stamp collection. He loved to read. And he was creative—he could draw and he wrote poetry. His poetry reflects the hard life he had. And yet, we can see the excitement he felt when he received a letter from his niece, Isabelle (his youngest sister, Lena’s, daughter) in 1935. “Say your letter was swell, brimming full of youthful personality” he writes back to the twenty-year-old. He speaks of his drawing, “Three years ago the Manager of Eaton’s Fine Art Galleries phoned Christie St. Hospital, that’s the Military Pension Board and Vocational Training, that it would be a good thing to give me a course in painting as I had rare talent.” Even though I have never met my grandfather I can almost see him. Fun loving, happy, hardworking and man who loved his family. Issue 14 Page 17 Poverty and Want By Albert Heron Want wears ragged clothes and worn shoes Poverty is scissor-trimmed and spit-polished. Want cries openly and grins secretly Poverty weeps secretly and smiles openly Want enters by a rusty latch Poverty by a stained brass knob Want is necessity Poverty is need and vanity Want craves, Poverty laments Want has its’ birds of a feather Poverty travels alone Want has a relief voucher Poverty a pawn ticket Want suffers physically, Poverty morally Want is buoyed by self pity Poverty is sunk by self condemnation Want has its fasts and feasts Poverty eats sparingly at all times Want has no means Poverty a small income Want seeks charity as a friend Poverty shuns it as an enemy Want demands help, red with anger Poverty refuses, scarlet with shame. Page 18 Pritchard-Heron Family Picnic Heron Family Track results 2006/2007 By Pat Heron Fall 2006 – Cross Country Running Paul enjoyed cross-country this year. I think he felt a little lonely without his brothers, Daniel and Joseph, there at his school. He was used to trying to beat his older brothers but without them there it wasn’t the same. He still got lots of attention from the rest of the students for being one of the “Heron” boys. He came in 12th out of about 150 boys in the cross-country race for the area. Here is Paul running in a cross country race. In the pictures his feet never seem to touch the ground. Daniel, Joseph and James competed on their school (Notre Dame, Ajax) cross country team. This was the first time for Daniel and Joseph at the high school level. They completed in many competitions that led up to competing in the regional LOSSA (Lake Ontario Secondary School Athletics) finals. Joseph qualified for the OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations) finals in Thunder Bay, Ontario (Nov. 4th 2006). The rest of the team missed qualification by one place. James – Cross country Daniel, Joseph and other cross country team members. Joseph finished 78th of 226 at the OFSAA finals. Spring 2007 – Track and Field Daniel and Joseph were very active this year competing (and winning many awards) in many track meets in the spring that led up to the LOSSA meet and the OFSAA Regional meet. The results of those two meets for Daniel, Joseph and James are below. Although James was not as active this year, he still completed in the LOSSA and OFSAA Regional meets. Issue 14 Page 19 Daniel and Joseph were among a group of four, of their school athletes, that won the school century award for attending 100+ practices for track and cross country. They were also nominated for the Track and Cross Country team Coach’s award. May 22/23, 2007 – LOSAA (regional meet representing 30 high schools) Daniel 400m – midget (grade 9) – (57.46) 4th of 22 – qualified for OFSAA Regional Finals 800m – midget – (2:09.80) 5th of 33 – qualified for OFSAA Regional Finals 1500m – midget – (4:32.98) 6th of 28 Joseph 1500m – midget – (4:26.27) 4th of 28 – qualified for OFSAA Regional Finals 3000m – midget – (9:51.44) 3rd of 16 – qualified for OFSAA Regional Finals Discus– midget – (29.99m) 4th of 10 – qualified for OFSAA Regional Finals Joseph & Daniel 4X100m relay – midget (49.50) – 3rd of 6 – qualified for OFSAA Regional Finals James Javelin Senior (grade 11 and up) – (41.77m) – 4th of 30 Joseph & Daniel trying the steeple chase race for the first time (the water was cold that day). Page 20 Pritchard-Heron Family Picnic May 30/31, 2007 – OFSAA Central Region Meet Daniel 800m – midget (grade 9) – (2:05.50) 4th of 15 – qualified for OFSAA Finals 400m – midget – (55.02) 6th of 15 – missed qualifying for OFSAA finals by 8/100 of a second (qualified for OFSAA Finals after two qualifying runners withdrew from the finals). Joseph 1500m – midget – (4:30.82) 6th of 15 - even though he was tripped and fell scraping his shoulder blade and hip. 3000m – midget – (10:01.39) 7th of 15 Discus– midget – (23.85) 14th of 15 Joseph & Daniel 4X100m relay – midget – (48.80) 5th of 15 – missed qualifying for OFSAA finals by 9/100 of a second. James Javelin Senior (grade 11 and up) – 11th of 14 Paul (grade 5) competed at his school and placed 1st in running long jump, and in the 800m, 2nd in the 1500m, 5th in 100m. He represented his school in running long jump and the 800m at the regional meet on June 7. He came in 4th for running long jump and 3rd for the 800m dash. (Continued from page 11) We took delivery on the day before we were leaving for Algonquin last summer, so we had a chance to try it out before our long trip. We loved it! So now, as I write this, we are just three weeks away from heading out on our journey to the Pacific. We are driving west through the United States, taking a southern route that will bring us through the Texas Panhandle and up to the Grand Canyon. We will be riding horses and heritage trains, floating in the Great Salt Lake and watching the geysers in Yellowstone Park. Travelling east through Canada, we will explore Vancouver Island and the Rocky Mountains, enjoy Banff and Jasper National Parks, visit the West Edmonton Mall and Dinosaur Provincial Park, stop by Dog River (Rouleau, Saskatchewan) the home of Corner Gas and visit the new RCMP Heritage Museum and the Royal Canadian Mint. We will tour the locks and ride through the Algoma Canyon in Sault Ste. Marie and camp near the Brent Crater in Algonquin’s north. Because I am retired, we are free to leave on our trip a couple of days before school ends. We plan on returning home on the Thursday or Friday before School starts in September. I have two pages of stops to provide to CAA for our Triptik. All told, we will be travelling over 15,000 km. Issue 14 Page 21 California Dreaming By Susan Kennedy While we planned our trip to California songs danced on our lips, “Do you know the way to San Jose….?” Or “I left my heart in San Francisco”, “California here I come”, and for those who know me, know that these were the only actual words I knew to any of these songs. But my family did have a bit of a laugh watching me trying to sing them. Consulting the maps, I discovered how little I knew about California. Our daughter had moved there last year with our eldest grandson, Joshua, now 4 years old, and we were going for his birthday. We were going to be spend his birthday in Disneyland, a 6 hour drive away—I am sure a dream birthday for many children. In fact, it was Spring Break in that area so the park was extremely crowded. (More like a nightmare for me—I don’t like crowds.) Based on our experience, I would like to offer you some tips, should you ever plan a trip to California. Planning tip #1: make sure you check what is going on at these theme parks before you go. But what does a child care if the waiting time is longer, especially when they are going to Minnie’s Breakfast (with the Disney characters), or birthday cake decorating with the characters in the afternoon, and to top it off, dinner at Goofy’s kitchen. An expensive day for sure. Planning tip #2: As for the birthday dinner, either have the characters sing “Happy Birthday” right away or go earlier in the day so the child doesn’t fall asleep before the action happens. Planning tip 3#: Don’t go to Santa Cruz Boardwalk after spending 3 days at theme parks in Anaheim – believe me after that you don’t want to go to any type of “fun” amusement park—how many merry go rounds can you go on? Planning tip #4: Enjoy San Diego, but be aware that Sea World at $50 a head was it not worth sitting in bleachers with the hot sun beating down on you just to see some type of fish jump through hoops for food or to see it kiss the attendant or—the biggest event—splashing the audience. Whales, dolphins, seals, were all the same, just different sizes. And there was nowhere to eat. Planning tip #5: If you go on any City Passes that involve transportation, be aware that later in the day you will probably have to wait for several buses before you can get a seat. We left many people behind. Page 22 Pritchard-Heron Family Picnic Planning tip #6: If you want pictures make sure you bring your camera. Don’t assume that because you asked where the camera was that anyone, especially the person who knows, will bring it. Otherwise you won’t have a picture of the six of you on a six-seater bike pedaling all over the Santa Barbara water front. And that would be a sight to see. (Too bad you won’t see it!) Planning tip #7: Expect that you will get lost and just bring a GPS (Global Positing System) because it can be pretty scary taking the wrong turn and getting lost in Los Angles at 2:00 in the morning. Especially as you fear you are in the bad part of town (not that you really know, because you don’t really know where you are). If all else fails—remember: look up and keep the highway in view. At some point you will probably find a way back to. Planning tip #8: Don’t expect places to be spectacular just because you are in California. Hollywood was a bust. But then some places are better than you thought they would be. Alcatraz, and the Winchester House were well worth the money. Planning tip #9: The traffic in and around LA is as bad as you see on TV. Avoid it if possible or get off the highway as the secondary roads are not as crowded. Planning tip #10: If you are going to visit someone, (your grandchild) just stay and visit. Forget the big tour around. Just see the things close by. But if you have to go to LA - fly. More Family News From the Herons in Orillia Sarah and Cory are expecting their first child. The due date is September 12. Sarah received her nursing license in October and has been working full time at Leisureworld in Orilla. Cory has just produced his second CD “age of consequence”, with his band UDM. Peter graduated on Wednesday, June 13, from Culinary Arts for baking and pastry making. He currently works full time at Oakdale Golf and Country Club. Jennifer’s daughter, Laurie, has received two awards from the Navy League cadets 1) perfect attendance and 2) Best cadet Level 3 (able cadet). Dylan is in Beavers. He has planted trees, sold apples and was in the remembrance day parade in Orillia. Jen is in the ECE and is in her last year. David works fulltime at Montainas and part-time at Primerica. He is still in the pipe band for the Gravenhurst Fire College. Laurie and Greg celebrated their 30th anniversary. Greg is still rocking and Laurie is still breeding goldens. Page 23 Pritchard-Heron Family Picnic THE UNVEILING OF JENNY PENNY By Lucy Furlong When I look back on the period of my life during the late 50s and early 60s, of all the fun things my sister Jean and I and our friends experienced, and of all the people we knew, nothing could ever come close to the fun we had with a character by the name of Jenny Penny. How can I best describe Jenny? I don’t mind saying that she was odd looking, because no one could deny it, yet her countenance was more marvellous than it was weird. Her cheeks were puffed as though they were stuffed with marshmallows, her doltish eyebrows met, and at the tip of her nose balanced heavy horn-rimmed glasses. Plump in curious places, it was as though she had soft pillows stuffed under the old-fashioned dresses she wore. Her unruly thick brown hair donned a hat that looked as if a 300-pound man might have sat upon it, yet, yielded one tiny daisy standing upright. When she spoke, she had a quirky way of turning her head sideways and scrinching her face. On the plus side, she had soft delicate skin, and deep blue eyes. Jenny always had a lot to say and she articulated in a high-pitched penetrating voice, drawing out simple words in her speech as one draws out words in a song. Whatever she Jean & Lucy said we found amusing, for she had cockeyed ideas. For instance, if we were in the middle CNE 1959 of a conversation on any topic, oh maybe discussing the binary arithmetic operation, or what the otter must know to survive in his habitat, just as the conversation would become engrossing, she would choose that moment to say something like, “I do believe that if the gorilla ruled the world it would be a much better place.” She was a loopy, boisterous, crazy kind of woman, but whatever she did or said we delighted in her. Jenny could do no wrong. As to how old she was, Jenny was ageless, for peculiar people are like that. They’re ethereal. I don’t recall anyone ever wondering where she lived or where she came from. I guess if anyone asked, they wouldn’t have received a straight answer anyway. She just showed up now and then, and sometimes in the most unexpected places. Jean and I belonged to the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary at our church. This was an organization composed of a dozen or so twenty-something women who wanted to better their spirituality by prayer and meditation, attending retreats and learning more of the faith by reading and studying. Guiding us was a young priest fresh from the seminary, Fr. O’Toole, who was a holy and somewhat strict young man, and who took his counselling to us ladies very seriously. Once, we were all ready to leave when one of us made a chance remark that something was “just a venial sin.” Catching wind of that comment, we were told that nothing was just a venial sin, and we were asked to be seated again and were given a lecture on sin, and that a venial sin was still a sin, therefore, an offence against God. Fr. O’Toole didn’t let us girls away with anything. One evening at our sodality meeting, we were sitting around the conference table when, suddenly, in sauntered Jenny Penny. “I’ve head about this sodality, and I’d love to become a member,” she announced to Fr. O’Toole and all us girls. Everyone was taken aback by her presence. I decided to let on I didn’t know her, as I was a little embarrassed as to what might come out of her mouth and I didn’t want to be the one they’d look to for explanations. However, even though I pretended not to know Jenny, I couldn’t help laughing at everything she said. Everyone was looking at her, wide-eyed with disbelief and I suppose that Father and the girls thought me Page 24 Pritchard-Heron Family Picnic (Continued from page 23) rather rude but it was just too much for me, for once seated Jenny took over the entire meeting leaving the hapless young priest totally bewildered. With all eyes on her she began discussing the loose morals of our modern secular world and the lack of religious training. After each remark, she would cluck her tongue, not just once like, tsk-tsk, but on and on like the staccato sound produced by hitting one key on a typewriter. Carried away by the rhythm of her own voice, she’d tsk-tsk from a high-pitched soprano to a deep bass. At this performance of a minute or more, the mouths of all present literally hung open. After Jenny exhausted her chatter on loose morals, and before Fr. O’Toole could get a word in, she changed the subject and started talking about her experiences when she visited the Vatican. “I do believe the Pope was looking at me when he waved amid the throng. Yes, I’ll admit he was a mile or so away, but we made eye contact.” And on and on she spouted in her grating voice all the while twisting her face while turning it sideways. As her talk continued, Fr. O’Toole started fidgeting in his chair, while the girls were doing their best to behave charitably toward this curious woman by giving sympathetic looks. Although, at times when Jenny cracked what they considered a joke, it gave them an opportunity to release any stifled laughter, with even Fr. O’Toole muffling a guffaw. But finally, between Jenny’s carry on and my uncontrolled laughter, the exasperated priest could stand it no longer, and I suppose, wondering how he could get rid of this woman and have a normal meeting, he asked her very kindly, “Would you mind coming to my office, Miss Penny?” Jenny had no choice but to leave with him and when they left the girls just screamed with incredulity at the carry on of this strange woman. Fr. O’Toole was gone for a while, but he returned without Jenny, chuckling under his breath and looking a bit bemused. With him came Jean who apologized for being late for the meeting. The girls were glad to see her as it gave them the opportunity of releasing the excitement they experienced by telling someone about this mysterious woman. Jean said that we knew Jenny, so I was glad I was able to explain my rude behaviour somewhat by saying that Jenny was used to my outbursts. I didn’t see Jenny too often after that, but I do remember the last time I saw her. Jean was married now and she and her husband Glen had a little baby girl, Laurie, and they lived in a very nice home. As Jean hadn’t entertained for quite a while, she decided to throw a party and among the many guests that came that night was a guy called Jerry. Jerry was an entertainer, a singer, and he was well liked for he was good looking and full of fun. He held characteristics befitting a guy who had spent time in show business and was what we might call today, artsy. He also liked to be in charge and so when a knock was heard at the door and Jean was in the baby’s room nursing Laurie before putting her to bed, and Glen was mixing drinks, he went to answer it. “Oh I know who that is,” Glen hollered, seeing her from the window. “It’s Jenny Penny. She always comes to complain about the noise if we have anyone over, but if I give her a drink she’s happy and even stays awhile.” From where I was sitting I could see Jerry opening the door and standing very still, just taking in the spectacle that was envisioned before him. For a moment there was silence, then that old familiar piercing voice was heard with, “What’s all the racket going on here?” Dumfounded, Jerry stood agape as he was nudged out of the way when Jenny entered. All the guests stared at her and once again I decided to pretend not to know her. However, I couldn’t fool one girl named Avril as she was present the night Jenny came to the sodality meeting. When Jenny entered, Glen asked her if she wanted something to eat. “No, later,” she replied, “but I Page 25 Pritchard-Heron Family Picnic (Continued from page 24) wouldn’t mind a little liquor for the old ticker.” Sitting down and making herself comfortable with her brew, Jenny looked surprisingly shapely in a black cocktail dress, contrasting comically with her blimp-like noggin and odd-looking face. With Jerry’s likeable demeanour, she seemed to take a fancy to him immediately and to get his attention, she addressed him as “young man” and when he looked, she would flutter her eyelashes and hike her dress slightly above her knee and kick out her leg for his viewing. Jerry, sitting across the room from her in a sofa chair, started blushing and rolling his eyes, hoping to garner some empathy from anyone in the room. But the guests were beside themselves with delight over this strange person, some rushing into the kitchen forming a circle, clasping their hands and whispering breathlessly, “Oh my gosh!” And “Where’s Jean?” As time went on and as outlandish as Jenny was, it seemed everyone was starting to enjoy these nuggets of golden antics coming from this animated character. With her audience captive, Jenny told many tales of her life experiences. “I was once heartened by flattering observations of my shapely figure, and so I submitted a photograph of myself to a modelling agency. You can imagine my utter horror when they returned the pictures superimposed with another model’s face on mine. This was accompanied by a letter of consent.” At this stage the memory of that painful event was so wrenching that the sorrow caused her face to contort in such a way that her lower lip jutted out, her chin puckered trembling in grief, her nostrils pinched and her steely gaze bore into the guests. Witnessing these peculiar grimaces, hushed laughter was heard instead of sympathy. Changing the subject and getting into a more jovial mood after the sad outburst on her modelling career, she said she wrote a song. With a wry smirk she sang, “Who’s been polishing up the sun, wiping out the clouds of gray, they must have knowed that I loved you, cause everything’s going my way.” While singing she strutted back and forth gazing upward and making polishing gestures with her hands. Jenny directed much of the conversation to Jerry. With his show business background, he was use to exuberant characters and he was soon kidding back and forth with her. His applause after this song seemed to encourage her on and, with all this sweetness and attention coming from him, it was soon obvious to everyone that Jenny was becoming smitten with him. Looking demurely at him and bearing her heart, she stood and sang, “You made me love you, I didn’t wanna do it, I didn’t wanna do it. You made me love you, and all the time ya knew it, I bet ya always knew it.” Then going down on one knee before him, “Gimme gimme what I cry for, ya know ya got the kinda kisses, that I die for, ya know ya made me, love you . . .” While her voice was still in a high octave on the you, Jerry, now beside himself in the need to be delivered from this strange woman, dashed into the kitchen, fell to his knees in front of Glen, wrapped his arms around his leg and looking up pleadingly at him, gasped, “Save me!” But Glen, showing little sympathy, tried to free himself by dragging him across the kitchen floor. At this stage Avril and I burst into crazed laughter crumpling into a heap on the couch. After things had settled a little and keeping the group, especially Jerry, entertained for a long time, Jenny, scrinching her face and turning it on an angle, said in her piercing voice, “I’d like everyone to sit down, as I want to do a little dance for all of you.” Doing an impromptu promenade to her own strident beat, she started strutting back and forth chanting, “Da da da dada dada. . . Da da da. . . dadada. . . Da Da Da Da Da dadadadadadada.” First the hat came off and was flung across the room. “Da Da Da. . . Dadadada” . . . then the glasses . . . “dadada” . . . then the wig . . . “dadada” . . . with each removal she would make a quick circle. “Da da da da” . . . then the tissue stuffed in her mouth . . . “dada da” . . . slowly. . . slowly . . .turning around. . .emerging under all this garb appeared . . . Jean. Yes, the truth will out. Jenny Penny was the alter ego of Jean. She was as they say of the alter ego, the other Page 26 Pritchard-Heron Family Picnic self, a second personality or persona within a person. Jerry stood up, motionless, pointing a finger at her uttering incoherently, “Aha . . . aha . . . aha . . . aha . . . aha . . . aha,” then he fell backwards onto the sofa chair. There’s a term in showbiz “always leave them laughing.” That night with Jerry, Jenny had reached the peak of her Everest, for nothing could ever match the evening of the unveiling of Jenny Penny. As Jerry was heard to say longingly, “The only sad thing is that such a creature doesn’t really exist.” Ah Jenny! What a whimsical wonderful personality you were. I shall not look upon your like again. Postscript: In August 2006, Jerry Laughlin, the man in the story, celebrated his 75th birthday. It was a big gala with about 150 present. Jerry got up and spoke about Jenny to the audience and about how Jean dressed up, and he recalled how terrified and embarrassed he was at being singled out by this strange woman. He concluded by saying that Jean was the best actress he had ever met. As for Fr. O’Toole, he simply did not recognize her either, neither did any of the girls. When she went to his office, she thought he knew and started taking the tissue out of her cheeks. He thought she was taking her teeth out. Jean wore no mask on her face, and we marvel even more now than we did then, that she wasn’t recognized. So it all comes down to the acting and Jerry certainly summed it up well. The best actress he, or anyone, had ever met. Lucy & Jean 2005 By Lucy Furlong, 2006 With recognition to Jean for her help in nudging my memory when needed and contributing a line here and there. We’re on the Web http://www.homestead.com/heron/ Page 27 Pritchard-Heron Family Picnic The Up and Comings From Picnic 2006